New chamber head has big shoes to fill

Saturday

As incoming president and chief executive of the Taunton Area Chamber of Commerce (TACC) Kerrie Blake said she’s as ready as she’ll ever be and up for the task at hand.

As incoming president and chief executive of the Taunton Area Chamber of Commerce (TACC) Kerrie Blake said she’s as ready as she’ll ever be and up for the task at hand.
“I know I have big shoes to fill, but I’m confident I can do it,” she said.
Blake is set to replace Diana Shearstone, whose last official day on the job was Friday.
Shearstone, 65, is retiring after 37 years with the chamber, the last 18 spent as chamber director.
Blake, 27, comes to Taunton after working the last five-plus years for the Metro South Chamber of Commerce in Brockton.
Her most recent position was as its program director, the No. 2 position in the organization.
Going from a 1,000-member chamber to one half that size, she said, is not nearly as significant as one might think.
“Taunton just keeps growing and growing,” Blake said. “It has the land, and the chamber is in a great position to increase its membership.”
She said that Brockton, on the other hand, “is maxed out in [available] land.”
Blake has spent the past two weeks under the tutelage of Shearstone in the TACC’s office at 12 Church Green. But she’s already set goals for herself.
The two most immediate priorities are establishing an on-line newsletter and increasing the chamber’s membership rolls. She said she intends on accomplishing the latter by sitting down with as many potential members as she can
“I’m going to be very visible. I plan on being out there,” she said.
Blake grew up in Whitman and graduated from Bridgewater State College with a degree in communication studies and public relations.
During her last semester at college she worked as an intern at the Brockton chamber, which led to a position as its communication coordinator and eventually the post of program director.
She said she found out about the opening in Taunton from an on-line jobs posting on the New England Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (NEACCE) website.
Her boss and president of the Metro South Chamber of Commerce, Chris Cooney, encouraged her to apply, she said.
Blake said she’s already met Mayor Charles Crowley and Heart of Taunton director Julie Sprague and expects to be meeting other key players in the business community as well.
In addition to being a graduate of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Organizational Management, she is also enrolled in a Masters of Public Administration program at Bridgewater State College, where she expects to graduate by the end of 2008.
Diana Shearstone said she’s impressed with her successor’s background and training.
“She’s got a lot of bright ideas,” Shearstone said. “I’m confident we’re in good hands.”
cwinokoor@tauntongazette.com

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